With Milwaukee Admirals goaltender Scott Darling, it's all about pace. When he slows down the game and plays without reckless abandon in his net, his success level increases.

"He has calmed down a little bit," Admirals coach Dean Evason said. "He has a lot of skill and a lot of compete, but he was all over the place for us. He's calmer now and playing a little more of a controlled game and had some success this year."

With his calmer style — plus a little injury misfortune throughout the Predators' organization — the 25-year-old Darling has become a top-flight American Hockey League goaltender.

With starter Pekka Rinne still on the mend from two major hip operations and backup Carter Hutton a pending unrestricted free agent, Darling has given the Predators some unexpected goaltending depth.

This season he had a 1.82 goals against average and .938 save percentage in 25 games with Nashville's top minor-league affiliate.

"If I didn't think I could play in the NHL, I don't know what I would be doing. It's a process," Darling said this week. "Next year I hope to play 50 games in the AHL. You have to pay your dues and stick with it."

Darling, a native of Lemont, Ill., and a seventh-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007, could continue Nashville's history of revitalizing scrap-heap goaltenders such as Dan Ellis, Chris Mason and Hutton.

The Predators have other solid goaltenders in their system, including Magnus Hellberg (second-round pick in 2011) and Marek Mazanec (NHL Rookie of the Month in November). But Darling seems to have jumped both on the depth chart, at least for the interim.

Hellberg has fought injury issues — which is partially why Darling was called up to Milwaukee from the Cincinnati Cyclones — and finished his season in Cincinnati. Mazanec has played well for Milwaukee, with a 2.44 goals against average and .914 save percentage, but those numbers aren't quite as prolific as Darling's.

"His compete level is real good. His puck-handling and ability to catch pucks is great," Evason said. "He competes. He trains hard and works hard. All those set you up to have an opportunity to have success."

Though it seems likely that the Rinne/Hutton duo will be back next season — Hutton has said he wants to re-sign with Nashville — that doesn't mean Darling will not be an NHL netminder at some point.

In fact, he looks at Hutton, who made his NHL debut at age 27, as a template and a timeline for his personal success.

"A lot of goalies break into the NHL in their late 20s — Carter being one of them," Darling said. "I'm 25 right now. I'm not in a rush, but it's my goal, and I need to keep pushing for it."

Reach Josh Cooper at 615-726-8917 and on Twitter @joshuacooper.

PREDATORS GOALTENDERS

Here are the key goaltenders in the organization in addition to Milwaukee's Scott Darling:

Pekka Rinne: The 31-year-old Finn came back from two major hip surgeries and 51 missed games to play the last month and a half of the Predators season. He will play for his native country in the world championships next month.

Carter Hutton: He won 20 games in his first NHL season at age 28. He's an unrestricted free agent and is likely to re-sign with Nashville, but his situation bears watching, especially if goaltending coach Mitch Korn leaves.

Marek Mazanec: After a hot start with the Predators that included NHL Rookie of the Month honors in November, the 22-year-old native of the Czech Republic cooled considerably, finishing with a 2.80 goals against average and .902 save percentage at the NHL level.

Magnus Hellberg: The 23-year-old Swede, a 2011 second-round pick at one point considered to be Rinne's future backup, had a .924 save percentage with Milwaukee in 2012-13. This season he battled injuries, was inconsistent and finished the season with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.